Into the Woods

I had the dentists first thing - just a check up and everything was fine. Iy was another lovely morning and so I decided to take a stroll through the Black Spout Woods before returning home.  I'm glad I did - the light was especially soft and they were peaceful.  I met two dog walkers and their dogs, saw a roe deer, heard a couple of woodpeckers and came across swathes of snowdrops. 

After lunch I headed out again for my Pitlochry u3a bookgroup (I always feel I am being unfaithful when I mentioned it rather than my Edinburgh-based one). We had two new members and so our numbers are up to eight again and everyone was able to make it, which was nice. We talked about the book for the first hour before moving moving onto more general conversation for the second hour over tea and biscuits. A most enjoyable afternoon.

The book was Joseph Knight by James Robertson. It is based on a true story of an enslaved African man who is brought back to Scotland and then secures his freedom thanks to a landmark court case. 
The book first came out 20 years ago but our interest was rekindled by a play, Enough of Him,  by May Sumbwanyambe  which was a joint production between National Theatre of Scotland and Pitlochry Festival Theatre and which a few of us saw last summer. 

It is a powerful novel and also very well written.  I am planning on recommending  as my book choice when my Edinburgh-based Book Group (which also has a member in Glasgow) heads north to Pitlochry.